The job of the appraiser is to demonstrate to the bank signing a mortgage that the deal isn't a scam. If a house would reasonably be sold for $250k, but the bu

The job of the appraiser is to demonstrate to the bank signing a mortgage that the deal isn't a scam. If a house would reasonably be sold for $250k, but the buyer is buying at $2 million, there's probably some very good questions that need to be asked about where the money is going. On the other hand, if an appraiser can demonstrate that: - properties with similar features have been sold in a similar price range in somewhat recent time frame - if no close match exists, then identifying the price differential from past sales might justify a good guess Generally speaking, if someone is making an offer, then they are participating in the market and setting the fair market value of the home. IME yes, appraisers DO know the offer that is being made, and they'll come up with a similar number if they don't have reason to believe that the buyer and seller are doing something shady.